New York Police investigate suspicious car

New York Police clears a portion of the city's Union Square after a suspicious car was found in the area and rushed a bomb squad to the scene to investigate the vehicle.

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PTI

New York

May 14, 2010

UPDATED: May 14, 2010 13:32 IST

New York Police on Friday cleared a portion of the city's Union Square after a suspicious car was found in the area and rushed a bomb squad to the scene to investigate the vehicle.

The car was spotted by a Consolidated Edison employee who claimed seeing two gasoline canisters in the back of the Oldsmobile Cutlass that was parked in front of the utility company's headquarters, the New York Times reported.

ABC news also reported that two gas canisters were visible in the rear of the car.

The bomb squad was rushed to investigate the car, which was parked in front of the building at 4 Irving Place.

Irving Place was shut down between 14th and 15th Streets, near one of the entrances to the Union Square subway station, which is a transfer spot for seven subway lines, the NYT reported.

The Gramercy Tower and Village Tower apartments, which are part of the 1 Irving Place complex, were also evacuated.

The Police Department's chief spokesman Paul J Browne was on his way to the site and a police command post was set up at Fourth Avenue and 14th Street, the paper said.

The NYPD has not released any details of the incident.

In last two weeks, police have received hundreds of suspicious package calls after Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad allegedly tried to blow up an explosive laden car at the Times Square. Times Square has already been evacuated three times since May 1.

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